


Hearts of Angels

by judymulder



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Rumbelle Christmas in July
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-06 00:10:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11589015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/judymulder/pseuds/judymulder
Summary: When Gideon’s behavior suddenly changes at school, Belle and Rumple start to wonder if they have spoiled their son too much, just like everyone in Storybrooke claim they had.





	Hearts of Angels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rufeepeach](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rufeepeach/gifts).



> Rumbelle Christmas In July 2017 gift for the wonderful and incredibly talented Rufeepeach. It was such an honor and such a challenge to write for one of the best writers I know. It’s impossible to raise the bar that high (especially when English is not your first language!) but I made my best effort ;) Prompt: “It wasn't love but chance”. I have no idea why I wrote what I wrote, to be honest, because it has no direct relation with that phrase, lol. I incorporated your prompt in a way that is kinda cheating, hehehe. Nevertheless, I hope you like it. From your Santa, with so much love.

Rumplestiltskin gathered all the mail accumulated inside the pawnshop’s mailbox. Perusing through the envelopes, he wished that those ridiculous anonymous letters were finally over. He was sure it was a joke from someone trying to make fun of him. For the past couple of weeks, every day except for the weekends, he had been receiving a blank envelope with a few dollars inside and a computer written note that read “Storybrooke Rent Funds”. That was it. The amount of money never exceeded ten dollars. His patience about this matter was running thin because he knew someone was having fun at his expense, and the whole idea made his blood boil. The last thing he wanted was for people to think he was weak or harmless but it was extremely difficult to inflict great fear in the heart of people when they saw him everyday playing with a little boy and looking at his wife with absolute adoration. Not to mention his bi-monthly attendance to bulky family dinners where all the Charmings-Mills-Jones clan was reunited (along with several dwarfs from time to time). It definitely was not easy being the Dark One under these circumstances. Not that he actually wanted to be the man he was before, but at least he wanted peace and respect and the only way to get both was by keeping the façade of a dangerous and ruthless sorcerer in front of anyone who wasn’t Belle or Gideon. So, this was the reason why these mysterious letters were driving him mad. Someone was daring to believe that he wasn’t dangerous anymore. He would not allow it. Unfortunately, he was unable to investigate this matter further because he had much bigger and pressing problems at his hands right now. He sighed and put away the damn letter along with the bunch of other correspondences he had no intention of opening at that moment. He only wanted to close the shop for the day and go home, albeit he was afraid of dealing with a painful situation. 

Gideon, his beloved five year-old son, was going through some sort of a “phase” that was driving him and Belle crazy. Until a few weeks ago Gideon was a perfectly behaved boy, with excellent grades at school, and in general, he was the pride and joy of his parents and teachers. But recently, he was utterly failing and slacking off at school. Mary Margaret was the first brave teacher that spoke to Rumple about Gideon’s change of conduct. Then other teachers followed and finally even the Principal had to intervene. Gideon seemingly stopped caring about school completely. He slept during classes, all his homework was half done or plain missing and he didn’t pay attention to any teacher’s instruction. Mary Margaret was sincerely worried because that was not the Gideon she knew. Before all this, Gideon was by far the best student in her class. If she were honest with herself, she was jealous that Gideon was a much, much better student than Neal was. They were even in the same class because, although Gideon was almost 2 years younger than him, he was way more advanced than any other kid his own age. If his own teacher was so worried about Gideon, there were no words to express how lost and alarmed Belle and Rumple were once they learned what was happening with their son. 

They tried everything. They helped Gideon with his homework after school. They talked to him over and over again in the hopes he would open up to them. They took him to Dr. Whale and then to Archie. According to both specialists, there was nothing physical or psychologically wrong with the child. Gideon kept insisting to his parents that he was fine but that he simply didn’t like school anymore. 

It was a common murmur among the inhabitants of Storybrooke that Rumple and Belle tended to coddle Gideon excessively. They never paid attention to those comments before because they never saw anything wrong in Gideon’s behavior and they were firm believers that if their son knew nothing but love, he would grow up happy and full of love to give. Deep inside, Rumple and Belle also knew that they were trying to compensate for whatever suffering the Black Fairy inflicted upon their son in another life. They never punished Gideon, they never yelled at him, because they both clearly and painfully remembered that Gideon was under the clutches of the most ruthless and cruel woman in all the realms. Nevertheless, and given the latest turn of events, Rumple and Belle started to re-evaluate their role as parents. To their dismay, they had to consider the possibility that they might had been accidentally spoiling Gideon during all these years. 

Despite their best efforts to approach their son with love and patience, hoping that he would change his attitude towards school, nothing had worked so far. So today, when Rumple returned home from work, he and Belle would start taking other measures and attitudes towards Gideon, even if those would break their hearts. They were desperate and they had to do something. Gideon needed to know that even in his young age he had responsibilities to fulfill with himself and with his family. He needed to know what the consequences of not being responsible were. Otherwise, he would grow up as a flighty, capricious and untrustworthy man. 

Rumple wished that everything that had happened in the past two weeks was just a bad nightmare and that Belle would be receiving him at home with a wide smile, telling him how proud she was that their son got another A+ in Mathematics. But when Rumple entered the living room, he found exactly what he feared. Belle’s expression was worried and sad and Gideon was sitting on the large couch with his face down, like he was already expecting a severe sermon. For a split second that image of Gideon reminded him of Belle fearing to be chastised for taking a magical object without his permission, causing an unmitigated disaster inside the Dark Castle. That thought made him feel like someone had just punched him in the stomach and guilt overwhelmed him for so many reasons. The last thing in the world he wanted was his son to be afraid of him. But he had to be firm tonight. He had to be a parent and not an enabler. It was all for his son’s sake. 

“Gid failed his exams and homework again” Belle sentenced without any intention of prolonging this agony further. He could hear the disappointment in her voice.

“Son, do you have anything to say?” Rumple asked, shortening the distance between them. He crouched down in front of him as a last offering of playing this nicely. “Please Gideon, please tell us what’s wrong? Please tell us why you don’t want to study anymore? Your mom and I only want to help you.”

Gideon kept his gaze glued to the floor when he replied to his father “There is nothing wrong, dad. I just can’t be a good student anymore.”

“Well, that’s not a good answer.” Rumple stood up in all seriousness but still addressed him in a very calm tone. “If you want to be someone in life you have to study and you have to fulfill your obligations at school whether you like it or not.”

“Gid, you know dad and I love you more than anything, right? But this has to stop. From now on and until you decide to be good student again, you are grounded. You come home directly from school to your room. No TV, no computer, no video games, no toys” Belle informed her son and bit her bottom lip in an attempt to remain strong. Both she and Rumple decided together there was not going to be a “good cop/bad cop” routine in all this mess. Both of them would share the hard responsibility of disciplining their child. 

“Also, in case you’ve forgotten, your birthday is next week. If you don’t change your attitude by then, there will not be a party and you won’t receive any gifts from anyone.”

This time, Gideon looked up and faced his parents with clear agony reflected in his eyes. He was the perfect image of Rumple and Belle combined into one tiny person. He had chocolate dark hair like his mom and he also had her chin and lips. But his eyes were identical to Rumple’s: same almond-like color, same sweetness inside of them. Now, those eyes were filling up with tears. It was clear that Gideon wanted to say something, but he didn’t, and instead he ran towards his room where he finally allowed himself to cry. Belle and Rumple look at each other with so much remorse and sadness from what they just had to do. Immediately, Belle closed the distance between them and buried herself in Rumple’s arms which held her tight. In no time, he felt his shirt wet and he knew she was crying too. And his heart broke because for the first time in years, he didn’t know how to fix this chip in his family. 

************

Gideon couldn’t stop crying. He was lying on his stomach in his bed and his face was hidden between pillows. He knew his parents were angry at him because he was not a good student anymore. But he couldn’t be one. Not if he wanted to help his friend Melissa. Gideon was willing to live with the anger of his parents and all the punishments they wanted to give him if that meant Melissa was safe and happy. But why Gideon was crying had nothing to do with being grounded and everything to do with the idea that his father didn’t love him anymore. How could he if he broke a promise to him? People were afraid of him because he was the Dark One and he’d never broke deals or promises under any circumstances. But his father had just broken a promise that he made to him in his second birthday. Gideon still remembered it like it was yesterday. He was opening dozens of gifts with his parents after a night filled with nightmares. “Mom, dad, you will always be with me to open birthday gifts, right?” They looked at him with a transparent smile and his father replied to him “Of course, Gid. I promise you that your mom and I will always be with you on your birthdays, you will never spend a birthday alone, and we will always open presents together.” Now, his dad told him there wasn’t going to be a birthday, nor gifts opening, which meant a broken promise. Gideon cried harder believing that the only reason his dad would do such a thing was because he didn’t love him anymore. Maybe mom and dad could only love a son who was smart and good at school. He loved his parents so much that the idea of them not loving him was very scary and very painful. But his parents were not in trouble like Melissa was. He needed to keep doing what he was doing to help her. 

“Mom, dad, I am sorry for being such a burden for you. But please, please don’t stop loving me” Gideon asked in a whisper and kept crying until he fell asleep. 

***********

Days passed and nothing improved in the Gold’s household. On the contrary, Gideon was closing off to his parents even more because he felt alone and unwanted. They were treating him with coldness that he never experienced before and he just didn’t understand it. Was school so important to parents? Was it so important that if you fail at it they would stop loving you? It truly seemed like it to Gideon. Every day that he came home from school with bad grades and teacher reports, he was sent straight to his room. He was only allowed to be outside of those four walls to share the family meals. And even those shared moments were awful. Silence predominated at the table right after his parents asked him for the zillionth time if he needed help, and obtaining a negative answer. Belle and Rumple were so lost about the whole situation that they never saw the increasing severity of their treatment towards Gideon. Although their only intention was trying to help their son to overcome this total apathy towards school, they were completely blinded about how much their kid was actually suffering. 

And then, Gideon’s birthday came. To his utter dismay, it was a Saturday. During a school day he could have pretended that it was just a normal day, but now he had the entire weekend ahead of him and he was painfully aware that he was going to spend his birthday in complete solitude, remembering that his father broke a promise to him. Belle and Rumple were by his side as soon as he woke up, to say happy birthday and to hug him, which pleasantly surprised him. But there were no gifts, no celebration, and certainly no truce from his punishment.

*************

It wasn’t without difficulty that Melissa convinced her mom to let her go to her best friend’s house. Her mom, like pretty much everyone else in Storybrooke, was always wary of the Dark One. Yes, Melissa had heard terrible stories of Gideon’s father. In fact, the Dark One was the reason why her parents were in distress. Melissa also wanted to blame the sorcerer for Gideon’s suffering. But she knew better than that. She was the only one to blame for everything her friend was going through. And guilt was not letting her live in peace. She didn’t know what to do. If she said something, her own parents would be suffering the consequences, but if she stayed quiet, Gideon would continue hurting. With this internal fight occurring inside of her, and her mother saying things about “running” and “yelling for help” in case something weird happened inside the Dark One’s house, she grabbed the birthday gift she had for Gideon and left home. 

The Gold’s house was just a short ten minute walk from Melissa’s. She was always in awe about how majestic the Victorian pink house was. Her own house was so tiny and simple in comparison. She wondered if one day she would be able to have enough money to live in a place like this…or just to have enough money so that her parents would not work to exhaustion to put a plate a food on their table. Melissa rang the bell of the mansion and a few seconds later, the Dark One himself appeared on the door frame. His expression was extremely sad. 

“Hello Mr. Gold” the little girl with red hair, blue eyes and cheeks covered in lovely freckles, greeted with certain hesitation. 

“Hello Melissa. Can I help you with something?” Rumple inquired, a little surprised of this Saturday early morning visit. 

“I came to see Gid, Mr. Gold. I brought him a birthday present!” she explained, showing him the golden wrapped packaged she was carrying. A wide smile appeared on her face.

Rumple hesitated because Gideon was grounded and he was not supposed to receive any visits or any gifts. But for some reason, he couldn’t turn down the girl that was standing in front of him. 

“Come on in. I will let Belle know that you are here, ok? Please take a seat” Rumple guided Melissa to the living room. She sat down contentedly in the biggest, most comfortable couch she spotted, and waited there for Mr. Gold to come back.

Rumple went to look for Belle in their in-house library. She was surely immersed in a book, even though reading lately was not a joyful activity as it used to be. For Belle, reading had rather become a research activity in an effort to understand what was happening to her son. 

She didn’t even hear when Rumple entered the room and he had to clear his throat, trying not to startle her. When Belle’s eyes finally made contact with his, Rumple curiously peeked at whatever she was reading because it was clearly not a book about childhood or child behavior. 

“What are you reading?” He warmly inquired, sitting beside her. 

“I needed a break from psychology books. My head was killing me since we woke up. You noticed how sleep eluded me most of the night” He nodded and Belle returned her attention to the book in her hands. “This is poetry, a compilation from different authors. I was just reading the most beautiful one…listen to this Rumple” Belle immediately began reading, excitedly, without letting Rumple tell her why he was really there.

 

“It wasn't love but chance and rather sweet  
your newly weaned son asleep in his crib, your breasts too tender  
to be touched. And touch itself, too early, indiscreet.

Your small son breathed and coughed. I tried to sleep  
but couldn't ignore what your body engendered  
in mine. It wasn't love but chance and strangely sweet.

I like your name; you're used to mine, ironic repeat  
of your old lover's. With so few facts ought two people surrender  
to touch? (Better to date, slow down, try to be discreet.)

Ok, let's walk around the pond, take a few months or weeks  
to study each other and see what portends or  
not. It wasn't love but chance and rather sweet.  
I'm moved by you as well as touched: shy and indiscreet”.

 

“What do you think? Isn’t it beautiful?” Belle asked when she finished reading, smiling and snuggling against him.

“It is, sweetheart…but I came looking for you because there is something you need to know. Melissa is here.”

“Gideon’s best friend?”

Rumple assented. “She brought a birthday present for our son. Maybe we should make an exception in his punishment for today?”

Belle’s smile disappeared completely. She stood up and closed the poetry book, leaving it abandoned on a small table.

“There is nothing I would like more, Rumple. But remember what Archie said, if we change the set of rules that we already laid out for him, Gideon might think that we will eventually accept whatever he wants us to accept with respect to school. We can’t give in now. Not even when this is so painful. 

Rumple nodded sadly, knowing that Belle was right. Rules were rules, as much as deals were deals. They couldn’t be broken.

“Come on, let’s explain the situation to Melissa”. Belle took Rumple’s hand leading him to where the girl was waiting. 

“Hi, Belle!” Melissa chirped a happy greeting the moment she entered the room and went to hug her, returning afterwards to the couch. 

“Hello, Meli. Rumple told me why you came to visit. I appreciate how much you care about Gid. But you must know that he is grounded and unfortunately he can’t receive any birthday presents for now.”

Immediately, Melissa’s face turned sad, almost like she wanted to cry. 

“That is not fair! Gid deserves to celebrate his birthday more than any other kid that I know.”

“But you are aware that he hasn’t been fulfilling his obligations at school. Until that change, I am afraid he will continue to be grounded.” Rumple said, and Melissa looked at him. There was a hesitation in her eyes, but suddenly, there was determination as well. 

“Then it is true! You don’t love Gid anymore because he is a bad student?” She angrily retorted.

“Of course not. Why would you think something like that? A parent never stops loving their children no matter what” Belle intervened because Rumple was not able to even formulate an answer. 

“Gid thinks you don’t love him anymore. He said you broke a promise to him, and you never break promises” Melissa continued, still looking at Rumple.

“What?” Rumple managed to ask although a sharp pain was surrounding his heart, keeping him from breathing properly. When Melissa didn’t answer, Rumple tried again. “What promise did I break?”

“Um, he told me that when he was two years old, you promised him that he would never experience a birthday alone. That all his birthdays would always be filled with joy” 

Rumple felt those words like a needle in his heart. Melissa was right. He did say that and he didn’t remember it until now. He made that promise to his son after a nightmare he had on his second birthday. It was a nightmare about him being alone and scared in a very dark place. Rumple knew what that dream meant and he wanted to reassure his son that he would never experience that. How it was possible Gideon remembered it and not him? Rumple was just so upset about what was happening at school that he just completely forgot about that promise. 

Sensing the tribulation inside her husband, Belle intended to defend their choice with respect to Gideon’s punishment. “Meli, Rumple nor I intended to hurt Gid in anyway. We love him more than anything in the world. It is because of that love, that we made a difficult decision when he refused to care about school anymore. No kid has a future without education and we are trying to ensure that Gideon understands that, so he has the best possible future.”

Melissa hesitation was crystal clear again. She wanted to say more but was afraid of something. 

“Gid never stopped caring about school. In fact, I think he could skip a few years without any problem.” Melissa said, avoiding Rumple and Belle’s confused looks. “You are wrong about everything. Gid isn’t lazy or irresponsible.”

“He falls asleep during classes, he fails at exams, he doesn’t do his homework…” Belle retorted but was abruptly interrupted by the little girl.

“He falls asleep at school because he doesn’t sleep at night!”

“That’s impossible. Gideon goes to bed every night at 9:00pm.” Rumple managed to explain.

“He only pretends he is sleeping at that time, then he waits a couple of hours, and when he is sure that you two are already asleep, he starts working until it is almost morning.”

“He works? Works on what?” Rumple questioned further, completely confused about what he was hearing. 

“He does the homework for other students that pay him to do it. He is very good at imitating calligraphy so the teachers never catch him. He does about 10 different kids’ homework for them each day, especially for sixth and eighth graders. That’s why he can’t do his own or stay awake for an exam.”

“What?!” Rumple and Belle exclaimed at unison. 

Melissa jumped from her seat, startled at that reaction. 

Belle knew immediately that they needed to calm down if they wanted to reach the bottom of this nonsensical story. She sat besides Melissa, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

Rumple remained standing, motionless in the same spot. 

“Meli, I am sorry we scared you. We just really need to understand what you are saying because it doesn’t make any sense to us right now. Gideon is in second grade. How is it even possible he is doing homework for eighth graders?”

“That’s why I said he could skip years at school without problem.” Melissa replied with a hint of pride in her voice. 

“Why on earth would Gideon want money for? Why did he think he needed to work for money? He has everything he needs and wants under this roof.”

Melissa dropped her head and gazed directly at the floor. When no answer was provided, Rumple pushed again. “Melissa?” 

When the girl looked back again at him, he could see she was crying. 

“He is doing everything for me. It’s my fault that he has been suffering this much for the past weeks!” 

Belle reached for her and hugged her.

“Hey, it is ok, Meli. I am sure you have done nothing wrong”

“But it is my fault! I told him that Mr. Gold was taking the house away from my parents because they couldn’t pay rent. I told Gid I was afraid of living on the streets and he said he was going to help me with the rent!”

“Oh, gods, the envelopes!” Rumple felt sick to his stomach and in an effort not to throw up right there and then, he dropped on the armchair and covered his face with his hands. 

“What envelopes?” Belle asked with a broken voice and tears welling up in her eyes.

“Gid put the money he was getting everyday in an envelope with a computer-written note and secretly slid the envelop in the pawnshop’s mail box before coming home. It was supposed to be a rent fund to cover my parent’s rent and whoever else that needed it. Gid said that way, his father would not have to leave anyone without a house anymore.”

The moment Melissa ended her explanation, Rumple audibly sobbed with his hands still covering his face. The girl looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Was the Dark One crying? That was impossible! Then she looked at Belle and she was crying too. Did she do something wrong? Was she in trouble? Was Gid in even more trouble because of her? She only wanted to help her friend and she thought that telling the truth would help. But now she was not sure what was happening. 

Understanding her confusion, Belle cleared her throat in an effort to speak. But she failed miserably and only managed to sob harder. She was overwhelmed by emotions. Now she understood everything and she simply didn’t know what to do with the feelings she had at the moment. Gideon did the most beautiful, selfless sacrifice for a friend. He endured stoically every unjustified word, every unjustified accusation, every unjustified punishment both at school and at home, just to help his friend. 

While Gideon was doing everything right, Belle and Rumple were doing everything wrong. They caved in and listened to everyone else’s advice. Deep down they always knew all this had nothing to do with their son being spoiled but everyone else in Storybrooke thought the opposite. Oh, how Belle regretted listening to them! If she felt this guilty and hurt inside, Belle couldn’t fathom how Rumple was feeling. But if the way he was trembling and sobbing with his face well hidden between his hands were any indication, he was in absolute hell. Belle needed to be strong now if they wanted to start making amends with their son. She cleared her throat again and this time she forced herself to speak. 

“Meli, thanks so, so, so much for telling us the truth. We didn’t know what was happening and now that we know, we will reverse how unfairly we have treated Gideon.”

“I just want my friend to be happy again. I… don’t mind living on the streets if that means Gid is happy.”

“Oh, Melissa…” Belle kissed the girl on the forehead. If this little angel could love her son in this way, then she was like a daughter to her too. “I promise you that you will not live on the streets. Rumple never intended to leave your parents without a house. He is just a little…strict with rental agreements. You have my word that you and your parents will always have a roof over your heads.”

“Thank you, Belle!” Melissa hugged Belle again, finally free of the heavy weight that keeping this secret had on her and knowing that revealing it could cost her family’s home and everything they had. “Can I see Gid, now?” she asked excitedly. 

“I am afraid we have to talk to him first, Meli, and it could take some time. Let’s make a deal, ok? Go back to your house and we will call you as soon as we have resolved this. Then we can celebrate Gid’s birthday all together. How does that sound?”

“Good! I can’t wait for Gid to see the present I got for him!” Melissa stood up and grabbed her present, ready to go home. She wanted to say goodbye to Mr. Gold but he was still in the same position and Melissa was sure he was still crying. “Is Mr. Gold ok?” she asked Belle.

“He will be. Thanks to you. Now, let me take you to the door. Be careful on your way home.” 

At the door frame Belle hugged and kissed Melissa again. “Thank you so much for loving my son with your heart of angel.” 

Meli smiled and started her way back home. When Belle returned to the living room, Rumple hadn’t moved an inch, although his breathing was a little more even now. She crouched down in front of him and took one of his hands between her own. When Rumple finally looked at her, she wanted to cry again. That haunted expression, red eyes flooded with tears, was crushing her heart. 

“Rumple…” she managed to say and then she just hugged him, knowing there were no words in this world that could take back what they have done to their son. 

Rumple hugged her back as if his life depended on it. He was a shipwrecked man and she was his salvation table. He bitterly cried on her shoulder until he was able to speak again. 

“What have we done to our son, Belle?”

“There is no way we could have known. And please, I know you are doing it, but don’t put the blame on yourself.”

“How isn’t it my fault? I was being a monster, like I always am, while my son was being an angel… I don’t deserve this family!”

“Stop it Rumple, please. Yes, you could be nicer with your tenants from time to time, but you also very well know that you were never going to evict Melissa’s parents. It is your job collecting the rent. And sometimes that is not a pleasant job. That doesn’t mean you are a monster.”

“I hurt my son in the worst possible way. I am a monster.”

“You tried to do what you thought was best for him. We were wrong and misled by everyone else’s advice about parenting.”

“That wretched cricket and that stupid doctor Frankenstein!” Rumple replied angrily. 

“They were dead wrong about our son. But we have the biggest responsibility here because we are his parents and they aren’t.”

“How can we fix this, Belle?”

“Well…I think we can start by apologizing to our son.”

“How I can look him in the eye now? I feel so unworthy of him. What if he doesn’t forgive me?”

“He will. How he couldn’t with that pure heart he has?”

Rumple was a little bit more hopeful now. He silently thanked fate for having Belle by his side. She was his strength as always. 

“Come on. Let’s not allow our son to spend one more minute alone on his birthday.” Belle said while standing up and taking Rumple’s hand. 

Those words were enough to arm Rumple with sheer determination. Gideon never deserved a birthday like this. But they still had time to change it. 

They went up to their son’s bedroom and Belle gently knocked at the door.

“Can we come in, Gid?” she asked.

Gideon was reading a book and was surprised to hear his parents at his door. He thought they would not talk to him until lunch time. 

“Yes, mom” he replied.

Belle and Rumple entered his bedroom and spotted their son curled in a corner with a book between his hands. The sight brought tears to their eyes again. This was so unfair and cruel. He should be playing with his birthday gifts, not all alone and sad just reading a book. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Gid asked without understanding the expression on his parents’ faces. 

“Of course not, son. You did nothing wrong…but we did.” Rumple knelt in front of Gideon. Belle followed the movement. Gideon’s expression was a complete puzzle.

“Dad? What’s happening?”

“What’s happening is that we know the truth, Gid. We know everything you did to help your friend Melissa.”

“But how?” Gideon gasped. 

“Melissa was here and told us everything.”

“Dad, please do not take away Melissa’s house! They don’t have another place to live! I promise you I will work very hard to give you their rent money!” Gideon was so scared about the prospect of his friend being homeless that he didn’t even realize that his parents were trying to apologize. 

“Gideon, I would never do something like that. I am so sorry that I let you believe quite the opposite.”

“Your father is a strict businessman Gid, but he is not heartless. He would never leave an entire family on the streets.” Belle intervened. 

“I am sorry, son. Truly I am. You were doing something noble and brave for a friend and I was treating you unfairly and I even broke a promise to you because I was angry. I know all of that is inexcusable but…can you forgive me? Can you forgive us both?”

“Do you still love me?” Gideon asked both of his parents with a doubt that hurt so much. 

“Of course we love you, son!” Rumple and Belle hugged Gideon “No matter what you do, we will always love you. Never doubt that.

Sadness finally left Gideon’s heart.

“I am sorry for lying to you and for not doing my homework. I was just trying to help Melissa.”

“We know that now, Gid. And we are so proud of you! But next time that you have a problem of any kind, please come to talk to us. We will resolve it together, as a family. Ok?” Belle pleaded.

Gideon nodded, smiling for the first time in weeks.

“Now, how come you were making ten dollars a day for ten eighth graders’ homework?” Rumple asked after kissing his son, in an attempt to lighten up the conversation. 

“Um, well, the kids said that was a fair price.”

“Well, I have the smartest son in the world, but I think I could give him a lesson or two in business.”

Belle chuckled at that, but Gideon completely missed the joke. 

“We are so proud of you. We will have to talk about having an in-home tutor because it is obvious you are more advanced than the other kids your age. But that can wait. Now, we have a birthday to celebrate!” Belle announced excitedly. 

“Really!?”

“Of course, Gid. We will do whatever you want to do today and tomorrow. Oh, and you should call Melissa. She has a present for you!”

“Yes! I want to see her to tell her that you are not angry with me anymore! Can we go to Granny’s for a hamburger and iced tea and invite her?”

“Of course. That sounds like an excellent idea.” Rumple replied with guilt still gnawing at his heart, but feeling more in peace than he had felt in weeks. 

“Thank you, dad, thank you, mom. I love you both so much!”

“And we love you too son”

The End.


End file.
